MONOGRAPHS ON EDUCATION 



II 



LB 1576 
.C56 
Copy 1 




The 

Conduct of Composition Work 
in Grammar Schools 



BY 

HENRY LINCOLN CLAPP 

AND 

KATHARINE W. HUSTON 



D. C. HEATH ^ CO., PUBLISHERS, BOSTON 



jgj?€ii£)teu 



THE CONDUCT OF 

COMPOSITION WORK 

IN GRAMMAR SCHOOLS 



BY 



/ 



HENRY LINCOLN CLAPP 



MASTER OF GEORGE PUTNAM SCHOOL, BOSTON 



KATHARINE W. HUSTON 



FIRST ASSISTANT 



BOSTON, U.S.A. 

D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 

1902 



THE LIBRARY OF 
COr-JGR£SS, 

NOV. 10 1902 

CLASS ex.* XXc. No 



Copyright, 1902, 
By D. C. Heath & Co. 



PRINTED IN 

UNITED STATES 

OF AMERICA 



V 



^\^' 






TTPOGRAPHT BY J. 8. CTTSHING A CO,, NORWOOD, MASS. 



PRE88WOEK BY H. M. PLIMPTON & CO., NORWOOD, MASS. 



INTRODUCTION 

There is generally no work in a gramrnar school 
more unsystematic than work in composition. Its con- 
duct is too often left to the judgment of individuals, 
without reference to a general plan. In this way some 
parts of the subject are sure to be slighted in a greater 
or less degree, if not overlooked altogether. 

Composition work should have its own time and place 
in a working program, in order to insure regularity of 
occurrence and frequency of performance. Spasmodic 
work will result no more successfully here than in arith- 
metic, grammar, music, or any other study. It should 
articulate throughout a school as other subjects do, if 
any progress is to be expected from year to year. 

The object of all composition work should be growth 
in the two lines of matter and form. We must steer 
our course as skilfully as may be between the Scylla of 
unpunctuated, formless matter, and the Charybdis of 
punctuated formaUsm. In the past we have sacrificed 
too much to form, and the result has not seldom been a 
dread of composition writing on the part of the pupils 
and despair on the part of the teacher. 

Our first aim, then, must be to induce the children to 
write spontaneously, in order that we may know where 
to help them. When they have something to say and 
are eager to say it, no matter how crudely, the outlook 

3 



4 ' Introduction 

is hopeful ; when they begin to express themselves less 
crudely but still freely, we have encouraging evidence 
of progress. 

Simplicity, clearness, and originaHty must be the 
results sought ; while lofty-sounding words and phrases 
caught at random and conveying no definite ideas must 
be excluded. For instance, one girl writes, " It was a 
beautiful summer morning, and all nature seemed with 
'one accord to blend into each other." Another says, 
" The mountains were so glorious and touched with 
future hopefulness, and let us follow the moral on the 
sea of life." 

We must not encourage absurdity by expecting chil- 
dren to evolve compositions from their emotions, lest we 
help to create a style Hke that of the young lady who 
wrote from Venice, " Last night I lay in a gondola on 
the Grand Canal, drinking it all in ; and life never 
seemed so full before." 

The child who writes about the brook " rippHng over 
its pebbly bed " is only quoting a phrase which has 
done duty many times, and which to him may mean 
absolutely nothing. Many children love intensely the 
beautiful things in nature, and are awed or terrified by 
her grander aspects ; but for these feelings they have 
not yet adequate expression. Let us await its develop- 
ment, praying, with Henry Van Dyke, that we may 
'' respect our material." Let us remember that although 
it is " Pierre Loti," the child, who observes and is pro- 
foundly impressed by nature's manifestations, it is 
"Pierre Loti," the man of middle age, who describes 
and records. 



Introduction 5 

There is no lack of subjects upon which children can 
write intelligently ; and there is no part of the curricu- 
lum in which the forcing process is more mischievous 
than in composition writing. 

The point of vantage in this work is the child himself, 
what he thinks, what he has experienced and imagined, 
not what somebody else has thought, said, or done. As 
in every other study, the value of the composition work 
depends upon the part that each pupil takes in it. It is 
never so vital as when he puts his own personality into 
it, expresses his own thoughts as well as he can without 
feeling trammelled, and takes an active part in correct- 
ing errors in form. Errors in matters of fact come in 
very discouragingly when he goes outside of his own 
experiences and imaginations and tries to reproduce the 
thoughts, sayings, and doings of some other person. 
There is a time and a place for this work, but it should 
never have the first place, because it is less suited to the 
minds of children generally. Their Uveliest interests 
are wrapped up in their personal experiences and imagi- 
native processes. The reproduction of a story, a lesson 
in history, or a lesson in geography is a test of the 
verbal memory ; it is sure to entail mistakes in fact, and 
thus tends to discourage spontaneity, and often becomes 
decidedly irksome. This poorest kind of composition 
work is supposed to be good for any grade in any quan- 
tity. It is the easiest thing for a teacher to catch up at 
any time and give to a class. It may save time, but it 
is done at the expense of the children. It is better than 
the ancient wrestle with such subjects as *' Moderation," 
"Faith," "Temperance," "Simplicity," etc., but should 



6 Introduction 

be used sparingly at all times and only when a certain 
momentum has been attained by the use of personal 
experiences and imaginations. 

This manual is designed to show how composition 
work has been carried on in one grammar school in 
which at times other methods have been tried with very 
unsatisfactory results. It is not claimed for the plan 
that it produces writers of perfect EngUsh, in other 
words, the impossible ; but the regularity with which 
the compositions occur throughout the grammar school 
course makes the work continuous and cumulative, as 
could not be the case if the plan were followed sporadi- 
cally or intermittently. The work of each grade, im- 
perfect as it necessarily is, forms a basis for that of the 
next year ; and the plan having now been in operation 
many years, its good results are appreciable in all 
classes. In the conduct of the work to be here illus- 
trated in detail it is beheved that the nature of the child 
has been given the first place so far as possible. 

The manual does not contain suggestive forms to be 
used as models, rules for punctuation, figures of speech, 
examples of fine literary style, etc., because there are 
already in print many excellent books dealing with these 
points. Nor is the teaching of such details considered 
here, for in this school they are presented in dictation 
lessons which are given regularly in all grades. The 
divisions of the manual treat in succession of the choice 
and arrangement of material, errors to be avoided, and 
the correcting of compositions. Following these chap- 
ters will be found children's compositions from every 
grade, illustrating the plan of work. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Choice and Arrangement of Material . . 9 

II. What to Guard Against 20 

III. The Correcting of Compositions .... 23 

IV. Pupils' Compositions 31 



The Conduct of Composition Work 
in Grammar Schools 

CHAPTER I 

Choice and Arrangement of Material 

In dealing with composition in grammar schools these 
questions naturally arise : What shall the children write 
about ? How often shall they write ? How much shall 
they write ? Shall they write in the schoolroom or at 
home ? How shall the compositions be corrected ? Shall 
they be rewritten after correction ? 

Since pleasure in work affords the best condition for 
the development of power, it follows that in choosing 
material we are led to ask, ''What do children like to 
write about?" Nearly all children enjoy writing about 
their own sports, their own attempts at various kinds of 
work, their excursions or travels, — in short, something 
from their own lives outside of the schoolroom. All 
subjects drawn from these sources fall under the head 
of '* Experience." 

Another class of subjects even more delightful to 
many of the young writers gives an opportunity for 
imaginative stories; while a third source of material is 
found in bits of good literature and biography which 

9 



lO Composition Work 

are in themselves interesting, which are outside of the 
routine of facts learned in daily lessons, and whose repro- 
duction allows individual expression. 

These three divisions — Experience (which includes 
Description), Imagination^ Reproduction — seem to cover 
the field of writing adapted to pupils of grammar school 
age, and the work here outhned has been so arranged 
as to give each division its fair share of time. Letter 
writing, which should form a regular part of the course, 
calls for the use of either or all of these three. 

For the past fifteen years much written language work, 
descriptive of natural objects in the hands of the chil- 
dren, has been done in the time devoted to nature study, 
— one hour and a half a week ; but it is not included 
here because, as it has its own time, it need not encroach 
upon the many other subjects for compositions which 
can be brought before the children. 

An hour and a half a week is devoted to writing and 
correcting a composition, the work being done wholly in 
the schoolroom. In the three lower grades the time is 
divided into three half-hour periods, — one for writing, 
one for correcting, and one for copying the corrected 
paper. In the three upper grades an hour is spent in 
writing and half an hour in correcting, there being no 
second draft. 

By the time pupils have reached the seventh grade 
and have certain forms of written language at their com- 
mand, it is desirable that they should begin to acquire the 
habit of making only one draft, in order that they may 
learn the importance and advantage of being able to 
express themselves at once without recourse to copying, 



In Grammar Schools ii 

and also that the full hour may be devoted to original 
work. 

The children write as much as they can in the allotted 
time, and then leave the work. The compositions are 
not as voluminous as if only one or two were written in 
a month, laboriously worked over by the teacher, and 
taken home to be further elaborated by the pupils ; but 
they are fairly representative of the children's own power 
under supervision which aims to direct but not to super- 
sede their efforts. 

How shall the material for compositions be so arranged 
that all the grades in one school shall have like opportu- 
nities ? If the matter is left to the discretion of individual 
teachers, the results in the different classes will be very 
uneven. A touch of the Gradgrind spirit will make every- 
thing yield to facts, while a too great devotion to the 
cultivation of the imagination will give this side of the 
work undue prominence. Reproduction is undoubtedly 
the easiest form of composition writing, and calls for the 
least originality on the part of pupil and teacher. Too 
much of it is stultifying, as was shown by an experiment 
once made by the principal of a grammar school in which 
the work in composition was considered very creditable. 

It had been the custom for each teacher to send to the 
principal once each month a set of compositions from 
her class. Feehng that reproductive work had usurped 
nearly all the time given to composition writing, and 
that the children's papers had received too much careful 
editing, he went into each classroom and asked the 
children to write on the subject : " My Favorite Game." 

The result as a whole was startlingly meagre. The 



12 Composition Work 

pupils had so long been accustomed to having both ideas 
and words furnished them before writing that they were 
almost powerless when thrown suddenly upon their own 
resources. Here was a subject upon which they might 
confidently be expected to have something to say ; but 
the habit of waiting passively for the pouring-in process 
to begin had become so fixed that even one of the most 
interesting things in their own experience fell before it. 
It was clear that a radical change must be made in the 
work. Its scope must be broadened ; the children must 
be released from their bondage and led to take the 
initiative in at least two-thirds of their work. Out of 
this necessity grew a plan, which is here offered in the 
hope that it may prove suggestive. 

As four compositions can generally be written in a 
month, at the rate of one a week, it is practicable to 
assign Experience to one week, Imagmation to another, 
ReprodjLction to a third, and a Letter to the fourth ; and 
to allow all the grades to work on the same line in the 
same week. For the purpose, however, of teaching the 
children how to make an outline for a composition, 
the plan is modified in the following way : once in every 
two months the composition time of two weeks is used 
in working up a subject by topics, and then writing 
upon it ; thus the third and fourth weeks in September 
are given to Reproduction, the letter for that month being 
omitted ; in November the first and second weeks are 
devoted to Experience, the imaginative composition being 
in turn left out; in January the second and third weeks 
are spent on Imagination ; and in March and May a 
similar course is followed. 



In Grammar Schools 13 

Each teacher selects the subjects under these heads for 
her own class, and the result is variety all along the line. 

For instance, one typical month's work in the George 
Putnam School shows the following subjects : 

First Week. — Experience 
Grade 4. The Happiest Day of Vacation. 



" 5- 


A Page from the Past. 


" 6. 


A Garden. 


" 7- 


A Day's Excursion. 


" 8. 


The Story of a Pet. 


" 9- 


When I was Younger. 


Second Week. — Imagination 


Grade 4. 


If I were a Bird. 


'• 5- 


Story from a Picture. 


'' 6. 


Somebody's Pet (from a picture) 


- 7. 


A Book's Complaint. 


" 8. 


The Dream of the Violet. 


- 9. 


Our Burglar. 



Third Week. — Reproduction 

Grade 4. The Lion and the Mouse. 

5. The Artist's Story. 

" 6. Story of the Madonna. 

'' 7. Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

" 8. Edward Everett Hale. 

" 9. Story from '^ The Merchant of Venice." 

Fourth Week. — Letter 

The letter in each grade for this month was written 
by the children to individual friends of their own. 

Stories are sometimes written from one picture large 
enough for the entire class to see ; at other times from 



14 Composition Work 

individual pictures. In the latter case these are pasted 
upon the composition papers. One such set in the 
fifth grade shows a variety of subjects, all of which are 
attractive and suggestive to children. Among them are 
a girl and a boy feeding chickens ; children skating ; a 
mother and her children sitting by an open fire ; a little 
boy in a field picking goldenrod ; a baby sitting at a 
table with its cup and plate before it ; children playing 
horse; a mother hiding behind a tree in a park while 
the nurse guides the baby towards her ; some trees and 
a log cabin near a stream ; a boy fishing while a little 
girl looks on ; a girl reading under an apple tree ; a 
frog using a toadstool as an umbrella ; a river scene 
showing an island and an old mill ; a man and a child 
in a library ; two children making mud pies ; a girl 
carrying a kitten through a field while the mother cat 
runs by her side ; an Indian on horseback ; boys play- 
ing golf ; a child petting a calf ; horses and geese look- 
ing at each other from opposite sides of the bars ; a 
family of puppies ; a little girl holding her doll on her 
knee, her finger raised in admonition. 

Below are given fists of subjects from each grade, 
which have been selected from a large number written 
upon by the pupils. 

EXPERIENCE 
Grade 4 

My Visit to the School Garden A Visit in the Country 

My Pets Our Neighborhood 

One Day's Fun Signs of Spring I've Noticed 

My Walk to School My April Vacation 

The Big Storm What I Like to Do 



In Grammar Schools 



IS 



Grade 5 



One Day Last Summer 

The Trees in My Neighborhood 

Work I Do out of School 

A Rainy Day 

My Christmas Vacation 



My First Party 

How I Earned Some Money 

A Pleasant Memory 

A Game out of Doors 

On the Ice 



Grade 6 



What I Did Last Saturday 
A Visit to the Zoo 
Things I Have Made 
Thanksgiving Day 
How I Learned to Skate 



On the Train 

How I Made Christmas Gifts 

A Room I Enjoy 

Down Town 

An Excursion 



An Entertainment 

Work and Play 

The View from Our Windows 

Christmas Morning 

My Reading 



Grade 7 

Fifteen Minutes in Our Hall 

One Night after School 

Picture Days 

An Interesting Event 

Shopping 



Grade 8 



Vacation Experiences 

Indian Summer 

A Visit to the Public Library 

A Slippery Morning 

A. Manual Training Lesson 

My Experience in Saving Money 



Lessons I Have Learned outside 

of Books 
A Walk in the Woods 
A Trolley Trip 
Memorial Day 



Grade 9 



What I Used to Think 
Animals of My Acquaintance 
Doing Errands 
Mv Collection 



In Franklin Park 
Running Games 
April Fool 
Description of a Bird 



Some Little Children I Know A Happy Summer 



i6 



Composition Work 



IMAGINATION 



Little Chipmunks (from a picture) 
What the School Gong Knows 
The Thistle Seed's Story 
When I Am Grown Up 
My Visit to Agoonack 



Grade 4 

If I Had My Own Way 

The School Clock 

The Life of a Button 

When My Ship Comes In 

How I Would Furnish a Playroom 



A Flower's Mission 
What the Wind Says 
If 1 Were a Man 
A Trip in a Balloon 
A Letter's Experience 



Grade 5 

A Brownie 

If I Were Santa Claus 

History of a Shoe 

What Became of a Dollar 

The Empty Nest 



A Trip to a Star 

The Happy Party (from a picture) 

A Leaf's Story 

If I Were Rich 

A Valentine 



Grade 6 

Reveries of a Schoolhouse 
An Old Hat 
My Strange Dream 
What the Door Mat Said 
A Snowball's Experience 



After Twenty Years 
'the Robin's Story 
The History of a Pin 
A Christmas Story 
Meditations of a Lighthouse 
What I Would Do with Ten Dollars 



Grade 7 

An Easter Lily 

A Talk with the Nineteenth 

Century 
Thoughts of an Old Arm Chair 
An Indignation Meeting 



Story from a Picture 
The Voice of the Pine Tree 
A Journey under the Sea 
Autobiography of an Animal 
The Months Have a Party 
The Wonderful Statue of John 
Winthrop 



Grade 8 

The Enchanted Pencil 
The Story of a River 
With the North Wind 
The Boy Who Was 
Grumblins: 



Always 



In Grammar Schools 



17 



At School in 1995 

The Wastebasket's Opinions 

The Boy with the Rubber Hand 

A Week on the Moon 

My Talk with Washington 



Grade 9 

A Meeting of Toys 
What the English Sparrows Said 
A Dream of Famous Persons 
Evening at the George Putnam 
The Stuffed Owl Speaks 



REPRODUCTION 



The Goose and the Golden E 
The Crow and the Pitcher 
A Careful Horse 
Captain John Smith 
A Young Hero 



Grade 4 
gs The Christmas Guest 



Henry W. Longfellow 
Force of Habit 
A True Story of a Bear 
The Shepherd's Dog 



How Agassiz Became Famous 
A Faithful Little Hollander 
Leonidas and the Spartans 
The Birds' Christmas Dinner in 

Norway 
True Heroism 



Grade 5 

Story from " Robin Hood" 
The Dogs of St. Bernard 
Story from " The Water Babies 
A Legend of the Dandelion 
Frederic and the Page 



The Fox and the Wolf 
CromwelPs Courage 
Lend a Hand 

The King and the Peasant 
The Golden Touch 



What One Woman Did 

The Arab's Gift 

James Russell Lowell 

The Queen's Highland Home 

The Miraculous Pitcher 

Jean Francois Millet 



Grade 6 

Oliver Goldsmith 

Washington and the Corporal 

Raphael 

A True Story of a Horse 

One Way to Be Brave 

Grade 7 

Story from "Evangehne" 

Story from "The Courtship of 

Miles Standish " 
The Masterpiece 
The Rejected Blessing 



1 8 Composition Work 

Grade 8 

Benjamin Franklin The Village Preacher 

Beethoven and the Blind Girl Abraham Lincoln 

The Porcelain Stove Wully (Ernest Seton-Thompson) 

A Christmas Carol (Dickens) The Mouse and the Moonbeam 

A Puritan Dinner The Mother Teal 

Grade 9 

The Painter of Seville Story from " Ivanhoe" 

Story from "The Spy" Story from "The Lady of the 

A Young Blue Jay Lake" 

The Siege Perilous Our Friends, the Birds 

The First Christmas Tree The Passing of Arthur 

The Legend Beautiful 

It is important that teachers should keep Hsts of their 
own subjects ; and mutual consultation will prevent 
repetition in the different grades. When a child writes 
for three or four years in succession on the same sub- 
ject, he may possibly do better the fourth time than he 
did the first, but it is almost certain that he will loathe 
that subject. 

Children's papers will show the most originality under 
a teacher who has an original and inventive mind, intel- 
lectual training, a sense of humor, and a sympathetic 
understanding of children's likes and dislikes. Such a 
teacher will so present a subject as to quicken the minds 
of her pupils, whether it be original or selected from a 
printed list ; for in the latter case she will not choose a 
subject at random, but will study its possibilities from 
the children's standpoint. 

The principal can make his supervision of great value 
by calling the attention of his teachers to the overwork- 



In Grammar Schools 19 

ing of any subject, or by suggesting a better choice of 
subjects. In order to follow all the classes in their 
work, he must have some records to guide him. These 
are easily made by the simple method of having the 
subjects for all grades entered in a blank-book each 
week. At the end of a year this book shows what 
ground has been covered in ten months. It is from 
such records that the titles given elsewhere in this 
manual are taken. 



CHAPTER II 
What to Guard Against 

Although we may agree with Southey's old woman, 
that " any kind of weather is better than none," it 
would be disastrous to apply the same optimism to 
compositions ; for every teacher knows the inevitable 
failure of children to distinguish between important and 
unimportant details unless they have had many illustra- 
tions to enHghten them. This is particularly true in 
writing from experience. 

A composition on '* How I Spent Saturday " will 
sometimes bring to light such facts as these : '' I got 
up in the morning and I washed my face." " I went 
downstairs and I ate my breakfast." Or an account of 
a visit to an interesting place will be largely taken up 
with statements of exactly how many minutes the writer 
waited for a car, what one he finally took, and how he 
came home. 

In letter writing the same tendency is very strong, 
and the children must be led to consider the things of 
real interest which make letters dehghtful reading. 
The habit of writing to the teacher or to the principal 
often results among the younger children in such auto- 
biographical fragments as " I sit in the second seat in 
the third row." *' I study arithmetic and geography." 
'' I am good in arithmetic, but I am not good in spell- 



Composition Work in Grammar Schools 21 

ing." " I like my teacher." Older children will hasten 
to tell how many weeks there are remaining before vaca- 
tion, whether they expect to " pass " in certain studies, 
and other equally barren and dreary matters. 

Such letters will fill up the allotted time, but are they 
worth writing } Is it not a pity for children to feel that 
the mere fact of their writing in the schoolroom entails 
the dire necessity of having their minds dominated by a 
few monotonous details ? 

Another bhghting form of letter writing consists in 
making the entire letter a reproduction of some lesson. 
Supervisor Robert C. Metcalf once said to an audience 
of teachers : "Do not allow children to begin a letter 
in this way : — 

*'My dear Uncle: 

"The Andes Mountains are in the 
western part of South America." 

Let us follow his advice, leaving out the facts learned 
in geography, history, and other lessons, and avoid 
making the letter a means of reviewing any study 
whatever. 

When children write to friends whom they know well 
outside of the schoolroom, and about things in which 
they take a spontaneous interest, care must be taken by 
the teacher to prevent the letters from degenerating 
into gossip; for garrulous children will, if unchecked, 
tell many incidents of family and neighborhood life 
which do not properly belong to the public, and which 
may, when read by other children, be the cause of un- 
pleasant remark. Acquaintances of the children might 



22 Composition Work in Grammar Schools 

object, also, to having their names used in so public a 
way, even in the telling of an entirely fitting story. It 
therefore seems necessary to show the pupils the differ- 
ence between suitable and unsuitable personal matter, 
and to direct them to substitute fictitious names for 
those of their friends in writing letters for a class to 
read. 

The work can be entertainingly varied by an occa- 
sional imaginative letter from data furnished by the 
teacher. Many of the older pupils enjoy writing to a 
little child, especially after hearing some of the letters 
of '* Lewis Carroll " to his child friends. In fact this 
whole field can be made inviting if the teacher will once 
in a while read to her class a few of the charming letters 
from the many volumes of such material now accessible 
in print. 



CHAPTER III 
The Correcting of Compositions 

In order that the pupils may receive the greatest 
benefit in this work, they should take an active part in 
correcting the compositions. While the writing is in 
progress an opportunity is afforded the teacher for 
going about and quietly correcting individual mistakes 
here and there. She soon learns where her help is 
most needed. After the writing is done let the children 
exchange papers and make corrections under the direc- 
tion of the teacher. As this training goes on they will 
become more and more independent of her, and will 
learn to avoid in their own work the mistakes which 
they have been led to see in the work of others. 

It may be urged with truth that more errors will 
escape detection than when the teacher does all the 
work ; but it is also painfully true that many children are 
singularly apathetic in regard to corrections made by 
the teacher, especially if such corrections are numerous. 
Now watch one of these same children when he receives 
his paper fresh from the judgment of his peers. Is his 
manner indifferent ? By no means. He is eager to 
discover what criticisms have been made by one of the 
rank and file like himself. Will he accept these with- 
out question ? Not unless their justice is self-evident. 
He will find out whether he or his critic is right, and 

23 



2A Composition Work 

why. When the question is settled he has made a dis- 
tinct gain. His mind has been alert, active, interested. 
Those corrections have made an impression which will 
influence him when he writes again. 

What if one or two uncorrected mistakes still lurk 
on his paper ? In time they also or similar ones will be 
brought to light. The march toward perfection is 
necessarily slow ; but it is far more sure if the children 
take their own steps, provided their faces are set in the 
right direction and their guide is watchful. 

To what end are children's papers corrected and 
recorrected until all errors disappear and little remains 
of the originals except the handwriting ? Surely such 
papers are not evidence of the children's ability to 
express themselves in good EngUsh, but rather of the 
teacher's ability to substitute her knowledge for the 
pupil's, perhaps without realizing that she is doing so, 
and thus to produce a set of papers which will be con- 
sidered creditable. 

In all grades the time for correcting is half an hour, 
and besides the matter certain points must be consid- 
ered : paragraphing, sentence making, spelling, capitals, 
and punctuation. The dictation lessons and many other 
language exercises furnish opportunities for teaching 
these things, and the composition and its correction are 
the application of previous instruction, supplemented 
by the teacher's aid in dealing with new difficulties. 

Each teacher pursues the method which she has 
found most productive of good results in her own grade. 
There are, however, certain general ways which have 
proved useful in all classes. Thus, care is taken that 



In Grammar Schools 25 

the poorest compositions shall at some time pass into 
the hands of the best scholars, and vice versa, this 
arrangement resulting in profit to all concerned. It is 
customary also to have each paper corrected by at least 
two pupils whenever possible. 

The children must know what to look for in correct- 
ing a composition, and a hst of points may be kept on 
the blackboard for ready reference, or in blank-books 
belonging to the pupils. Beginning with the most 
obvious things, such as the proper mark at the end of a 
sentence, the capital at the beginning, the separation of 
paragraphs, suitable margins, the use of capitals in 
proper names, the spelling of common words, the apos- 
trophe, etc., the Hst will eventually include the misuse 
of words, of contractions, and of abbreviations, repetition 
of words or phrases, unrelated facts {e.g. " Mr. Brown 
lived in Roxbury so one day he went down town "), 
agreement of verbs with subjects and of pronouns with 
antecedents, the best sentences. 

The points must be given a few at a time, and the 
work must show progress through the year and through 
the grades. The mental development of the children, 
the ability of the teacher, and her power of arousing 
and directing the enthusiasm of her class, must deter- 
mine what points can be successfully presented and 
how far the list can be extended. 

Some teachers of lower grades help the children in 
finding misspelled words by putting on the blackboard, 
before the exercise, the correct forms of certain words 
which must occur in some or all of the compositions, 
and leaving them for reference. At some other time 



26 Composition Work 

these words are copied into blank-books, and thus there 
is furnished a growing Hst of troublesome words in com- 
mon use, together with new words. 

When children are to write from their own experience, 
it is impossible for a teacher to forestall many errors 
in spelHng until she has learned from her work with 
several classes what orthographical curiosities are likely 
to abound under certain subjects. Under *' Games " she 
will probably find^gool," "holler," " hokey," **booger," 
and possibly "phorphet"; under ''Cooking," ''yoke of 
an egg " and " east cake." 

These few examples, selected from many, serve to 
emphasize the well-known fact that children are con- 
stantly hearing and using a large number of words whose 
form is absolutely unknown to them. Yet each one of 
these words stands in a child's mind for a definite and 
concrete idea ; therefore, when such a word is corrected 
on his paper, the right form, which is a surprise to him, 
makes a vivid impression, and he will, especially after 
writing it in his blank-book, remember it much more 
easily than the right form of a word whose meaning 
also is new to him. It is in writing from experience 
that his own personal vocabulary is brought to light and 
its needs made manifest. 

In a class supplied with dictionaries the teacher can 
insist that each pupil shall consult the dictionary for 
every word that is new to him in the composition he is 
reading. If he can find neither the word as it is written 
nor its correct spelling, he comes to the teacher for advice. 
The same care must be taken with a word divided at the 
end of a line. Both writer and critic are directed to 



In Grammar Schools 27 

look for the proper division of every word which must 
be separated into its syllables. 

In training the judgment of the children to recognize 
the best sentences in a composition, the teacher begins 
by writing on the blackboard from a child's paper a 
sentence which is better than the average, and showing 
how it is better than some other ways of telling the 
same thing. Then she selects some poor sentences and 
allows the children to suggest how they may be improved. 
She also takes occasion to show the class some clear 
and graceful sentences from good authors; and if she 
has been in the habit of noticing strong and beautiful 
English in her miscellaneous reading, and of copying 
some examples of it for use in her classroom, she can 
make this kind of work very interesting and profitable. 

The next time the children write a composition they 
are encouraged to consult the teacher as to whether a 
sentence or an expression which they wish to use is a 
good one ; but care must be taken that form is not made 
to appear of undue importance and exalted to its former 
"bad eminence " at the expense of matter. 

Hereafter when corrections are in progress the chil- 
dren take great pleasure in choosing what they consider 
the best sentence on a paper and reading it to the class 
for approval or criticism. They also become more criti- 
cal of construction in general. Those who have growing 
ability in this line prove helpful to other members of the 
class by rewriting the poorest sentences or paragraphs 
on the papers which they correct. 

For example, a boy began his composition on "Games" 
in this way : " One of the best games I like is an out- 



28 Composition Work 

door game. It is a very good game to play in summer, 
so it is called * Run, Sheep, Run ! ' The way in which 
the game is to be played is very simple." 

The boy who corrected the paper wrote at the end as 
follows : '* I think your first paragraph should read Hke 
this : One of the games I like best is an outdoor game 
which is called ' Run, Sheep, Run ! ' The game is very 
simple and usually is played in the summer." 

While the correction itself is not above criticism, it is 
such an improvement on the original as to cause the 
teacher to ''take heart of grace." Its effect upon the 
first boy is far greater than if she had been his critic. 
He knows that she ought to be able to write better 
English than her pupils ; but when a boy, his equal and 
playfellow, calls him to account for poor construction, 
the matter takes on a different aspect. In a grade where 
grammar is taught, the teacher may stimulate the con- 
structive faculty of her pupils by occasionally selecting 
for study some of their really excellent sentences. 

The younger the children, the more the teacher 
works with them during the half hour ; while in the 
oldest classes a larger proportion of the time can be 
spent in independent work. In some of the latter each 
pupil corrects two papers as far as he is able, without 
asking help from the teacher, except on points which it 
is impossible for him to decide from the means at his 
command ; he writes his corrections at the end of the 
paper and signs his name. 

When the compositions have all been corrected, they 
are collected and given to their owners. Each pupil 
writes in a blank-book the words he has misspelled. 



In Grammar Schools 29 

After the children have had an opportunity to examine 
their mistakes, they are permitted to go to those who 
corrected their papers to discuss any points which they 
think have been wrongly criticised. Disputed cases 
are brought to the teacher for settlement. It often 
happens during these discussions that mistakes are 
found which had been previously overlooked. 

The teacher must know whether her class is making 
progress, and therefore she must read the compositions 
herself and notice whether their correction has been 
reasonably successful ; but she need not read all of one 
set unless she chooses, for, as a new set comes every 
week, she is sure to find in the course of each month 
the needs of individuals, as well as the weak points of 
the class as a whole. Moreover, the compositions are 
so short that the reading of parts of sets several times 
in a month does not impose so heavy a burden as would 
the reading of one whole set of long papers at the end 
of a month. 

Teachers of lower grades ought not to feel that their 
classes discredit them because at the end of the year 
the compositions leave much to be desired ; nor should 
teachers of upper grades manifest surprise that their 
new classes have not yet conquered all the difficulties 
of the English language. It is not possible for any 
kind of work to be done perfectly by any class. Was 
there ever a class all of whose members could add, sub- 
tract, multiply, and divide day after day without mis- 
takes ? Why should so much more be expected of 
children in English than in arithmetic ? 

When a teacher feels utterly pessimistic about her 



30 Composition Work in Grammar Schools 

class, let her determine whether the fault lies wholly 
with the children, or whether she is not demanding 
from them more than she ought. If she will ask the 
principal to come to her room at the next composition 
period and assign a subject to her class, and if she will 
then sit at her desk and write a composition on that 
subject while the children are writing theirs, with the 
understanding that her first draft is to be read and criti- 
cised by the principal, the probabiHties are that she will 
rise from her task with a greater respect for the attain- 
ments of some of her pupils. 



CHAPTER IV 

Pupils' Compositions 

The compositions given here were not written for 
publication, but have been selected from the best work 
of each grade as it stood. They are by no means ideal ; 
they show the immaturity of the writers ; they contain 
crudities without which they would not be children's 
papers ; but they are simple, natural, and show that the 
writers understood their subjects ; and it may safely be 
said that they were written with an interest, a cheerful- 
ness, and a desire to do good work, which are in them- 
selves the best guarantee of improvement. 

EXPERIENCE 
Grade 4. My Trip 

One pleasant day last summer I went to Winthrop Beach. We 
went in a carriage and we took our bathing suits. We took the 
baby's pail and shovel. Each of us had a little lunch basket with 
some lunch in it, and for supper mamma took a big basket so we 
could all have enough. 

When we got there we had a lovely time. We went in bathing 
and saw the boys swim and jump oif the raft and float. The baby 
wanted to go in the water, too, but he had a cold and could not. 
Mamma let him play in the sand and dig. 

We brought home a box of sand. On our way home the baby fell 
asleep in the carriage. We did not want to go home but it was 
getting late and so we had to. A. H. 

31 



32 Composition Work 

Grade 5. A Good Time 

When I was down in Maine, one day it was my aunt's birthday 
and we had a very nice time. There was a nice large barn in our 
yard. In the morning we took to the barn our dolls and bed and 
shawls and dolls' clothes. We had a whole box of shells for dishes 
and a basket full of candy, cake, pie, and apples for food. I had 
three girls besides my sister and cousin. 

These girls had their dolls and toys, too. We played house all 
the morning. We made our beds in the hay with blankets and 
shawls and pine pillows. Then we went in to dinner and we had 
ice-cream and many other nice things too. 

When we came out from dinner we were invited to another girl's 
house. We took our things with us and played house and store 
there. She got some blankets and shawls and some rope and we 
made some rooms. Each one had a room. There were six of us 
and each had a barrel for a bureau and each one a chair. 

We had the rest of the barn for the kitchen, and we had four 
chairs and a bench and a big long table, and we played until it was 
time for supper. Then we went up to another house and we sang 
songs and played games with the old folks. L. S. 

Grade 6. A Disappointment 

About two years ago mamma said I could go to a little girl's party. 
How glad I was when she said this. I danced and jumped. I was 
wishing the day would come. I helped my mother to do the dusting 
and very many other things. When I had finished I went and got ready. 

Some other girls were going tqf call for me and we were going 
together. They had not yet arrived so I played games till they 
came. My brother said I could not jump the fence and so I tried 
it, but my dress got caught in the fence and I hurt my head. I 
tried not to cry but in vain. It liurt more and more till at last my 
mother came and carried me into the house and had the doctor. 

The girls had just come but mamma said I could not go. How 
sorry I was. When the girls came back they wanted to know how 
I was getting along, and they told me all about the party. I wished 
I had never seen the fence or my brother that day. K. L. 



In Grammar Schools ^^^ 

Grade 7. An Amusing Incident 

One day, in vacation time, two years ago I was visiting relatives 
in Colchester, a large manufacturing town in Connecticut. At the 
farmhouse where I was staying there was a bicycle, and the first 
thing I wanted to do was to learn to ride. I had had little or no 
experience at home, and so I wanted to begin right away. They 
are all country roads there and so they are not the place to learn to 
ride on. In the centre of the town is the square, which is also 
called the Park. It has very nice roads, very different from the 
street roads. 

Two days after my arrival the bicycle was brought out, and I 
attempted to ride. I would ride into everything, but I could not 
keep on the road. There is a large monument in the centre of the 
Park, with four cannon placed around it. I came near knocking 
one out of its place as I went over the curbstone and all. The 
roads around Bacon Academy are also very fine and I used to ride 
there when I could go alone. 

One day when I was riding at full speed along the main street of 
Colchester, I met a yoke of oxen patiently dragging a heavy cart. 
When they saw me approaching they ran, cart and all, into a meadow 
which was on one side of the street, with the drivers after them, 
brandishing their sticks and shouting in such a manner that I was 
glad when I reached a place of safety. 

When I started for home, four weeks later, I could ride quite well. 
The bicycle, however, was in a much more battered condition than 
when I had my first experience with it. M. E. 



Grade 8. A Rainy Day 

I have always thought rainy days an abomination because I have 
been used to outdoor life and it seems hard to be shut up in the 
house. But there was one rainy day I really enjoyed, and I will try 
to describe it. 

To begin with, " The day was cold and dark and dreary. It 
rained, and the wind was never weary." I was feeling blue and out 
of sorts, and worst of all I hadn't been out of the house for two 



34 Composition *Work 

whole days, for I had a very sore foot and lay on the sofa most of 
the time. It was a little better now so I hobbled about the house 
aimlessly, consoling myself by counting the days before I should be 
back in " old Boston," for I was spending the summer on a farm in 
northern Vermont. 

In spite of the wind and rain my uncle had gone to "town 
meetin'," and I was lonesome and homesick. I wandered up to the 
foot of the garret stairs. Hark ! My hair almost stood on end. 
Could ghosts have taken possession of the old garret ? Hark ! a 
hollow footstep ! I opened the door. " Hum-m-m-m," came the 
sound. I crept up trembling. I reached the top stair, sat down 
and burst out laughing, for instead of a ghost was my flesh and 
blood cousin stepping back and forth before a large spinning-wheel, 
spinning the yarn that was made from the wool of my uncle's sheep. 
I told her how she had frightened me and we had a good laugh 
over it. 

Then I sat down on the floor and listened while she told me the 
history of that spinning-wheel, and some of the legends that her 
grandmother had told her. One was about Mt. Mooselockie. 
Once two moose got fighting on the mountain and their antlers 
were locked together and they died that way, so the Indians called 
the mountain " Mooselockie." A. G. H. 



Grade 9. April Fool 

It is generally my luck to be fooled by somebody on April first ; 
and about five years ago I had the following experience. 

It was the custom of our family to rise every morning at six and 
breakfast at seven ; thus we children had time to play before break- 
fast. On March thirty-first I went to bed early, so I did not see my 
father when he came home, though I expected him to bring me a 
pair of shoes. My elder brother and sister did not retire when I 
did, but waited for father. 

In the morning I came down at the usual time and found my 
brother and sister waiting for me in the library. As I went in my 
brother said, " I guess that these must be for you, father said he 
might get you some " ; while he pointed to a shoe box on the table, 



In Grammar Schools 35 

neatly wrapped up. Visions of copper-colored boots with lacings 
danced before me as I sprang forward to get my treasures. 

As I began to unwrap them I noticed that the two who had been 
so anxious to give me the package were now very much interested 
in something out of the window. I got the paper off, then I hastily 
took off the cover and drew aside the pink tissue paper, to see what? 
Two of the knottiest sticks of wood I ever saw, with a paper on top 
which said, "What day is it?" 

The two figures at the window were shaking all over, and I was 
so disappointed I began to cry. In about fifteen minutes, however, 
father came down with a lovely pair of the desired boots. 

Last April Fools' Day I got up early and baked some potatoes 
for breakfast. When they were done I took three of the largest 
and removed the insides and filled them with cotton. These three 
were put on top. It happened that father was late and so Charles 
waited upon the table and as he helped each one he took the small 
potatoes under the stuffed ones. When he got to me, however, he 
took the largest stuffed one and put it on my plate saying, " I believe 
you are fond of roast potatoes." I did not eat my potato, though 
Charles kept asking me why. 

After breakfast he said to me, " The next time you stuff potatoes 
pull the curtain down in the closet." I could not help laughing; 
but this year I shall not get caught in my own jokes. 

C. M. H. 

IMAGINATION 

Grade 4. My Umbrella Ride 

One day as I was trying to fix my big umbrella I was thinking 
what a good ride I could have up in the air in it. I was at my back 
door and the sun was beating down on me. I got two boys and two 
girls. One of the girls said that we might come to the end of the 
world, and a boy said we might fall down a hole and never come up 
again. 

I thought I would take something to eat with me, and a jug of 
water. We all got in and started from my back door. The others 
waved their hats to see us go up. 



^6 Composition Work 

We went over hills, trees, houses, and mountains. As we were 
going over the trees I saw a lot of nests. One had five red eggs in 
it and the other had three blue ones. As we went over the moun- 
tains I saw six eagles and four hawks. One of the eagles made a 
hole in the umbrella and a girl was trying to sit down and she put 
her foot right through the hole. Then I thought the umbrella was 
going to tip over and I got frightened. 

We had been ever so high in the sky and we were coming down 
again. We were right over the brook that ran down the hill by my 
house. I was very glad to be so near my home, and the umbrella 
sank because the hole was so big. L. M. L. 

Grade 5. A Ride in Noah's Ark 

One day I was up in the attic with my brother. There was a big 
bundle in the corner. In it was some powder and my brother ate 
some and said, " Oh, how nice it tastes," and of course I went over 
to taste it. After a while we began to grow very small. We began 
to cry, when my brother found something in the corner. It was 
Noah's Ark. 

We took it down to a place where there was a lot of water. We 
opened the top of it, because there were no doors only painted 
doors. In a little while the animals came out two by two. First 
the monkeys and all the other animals after them. The monkeys 
said, " Are you the man that lived in Noah's Ark ? " My brother 
said, " No, I am his great, great, great, great, great grandson," and 
then the monkeys said, " See how long we've been in this. More 
than a million years." 

After a while the boat began to float. We went down through a 
strait under a dark bridge. I said, " Oh, I think we are going through 
the sewer." Then my brother became afraid and said, " Yes, it looks 
like it." After a while we came to some strange land which was 
muddy. There were animals of all kinds and they had lights all 
over them. If you went near them, the lights would go out. There 
was one that ate so much grass that you could see it in him. When 
I got home my mother said, "Where have you been?" and I told 
her all about my journey. F. M. 



In Grammar Schools 37 

Grade 6. The Browns' Fairy 

(From a Picture) 

It was a very cold day in December, 1885, when the Browns were 
all up around the fireplace and the fire was nearly out. They were 
just thinking what they should do, because their food was nearly all 
gone and they didn't have any money. 

All of a sudden they saw one of the boards come out of the wall 
and in the hole sat a bear. The children were afraid and hid behind 
their mother. Then the bear came out and changed himself into a 
fairy. 

He asked them if he could stay with them and they said, "Yes.'' 
He then made them a large fire in the fireplace that warmed up the 
whole house, then he, gave the mother and father each a million 
dollars in gold and told them that if they ever wanted anything, to 
knock on that piece of wood and he would help them again. 

They moved the next day into a large beautiful house up on a hill 
and lived very happily ever after. C. C. 



Grade 7. An Indignation Meeting 

Last night the club called '' The Parts of Speech " held an indig- 
nation meeting, to show their anger against the scholars of the 
George Putnam School. I suppose you wonder why. They have 
been treated most shamefiilly and could stand it no longer. They 
have been called names that were not right, they have been turned 
out of their places to make room for others, while they pay for their 
places and should be left to their own resources. 

Mr. Verb is president, and he was accompanied by his cousin Miss 
Adverb, his faithful attendant. Miss Noun could not come very 
early, but she wrote a note saying she would send Miss Pronoun 
instead. She was attended by Mrs. Adjective, Miss Noun's closest 
friend. 

Mr. Interjection came whirling in and made such exclamations 
that he had to be put out. Miss Conjunction then joined the Parts 



38 Composition Work 

of Speech. Miss Preposition came, and last night was the first 
time the members knew she was a cousin to Misses Noun and Pro- 
noun. She took nearly all the time in explaining her relation to the 
Nouns and Pronouns. 

Mr. Verb was the writer of the resolutions as he was the most 
important member of the club. They have sent them to the teacher 
and I hope they will not be annoyed again, don't you? K. H. 



Grade 8. The Party of the Months 

There was a great commotion among the ladies and gentlemen 
assembled at Miss October's house when Mr. December was an- 
nounced. He came in hurriedly buttoning his white gloves and 
stopped in front of his hostess to speak to her and apologize. 

He looked very handsome. He was quite old and his hair and 
long beard were pure white and gave him a distinguished air. He 
was a jolly old fellow and soon put the ladies at their ease. Miss 
July and Miss August shivered when he came near them but they 
liked to hear him talk at a distance. At the least puff of wind or 
at any remark made about her, Miss April would cry and laugh 
together. She was young and quite pretty and had on a pale green 
dress trimmed with white. 

Miss May had a beautiful dress of yellow caught here and there 
with sprays of Mayflowers. Miss June was laughing and chatting 
with Miss November and looked very pretty in a red dress. She 
had very dark hair and eyes, and the roses which she wore set them 
oif wonderfully. Miss November was a prim old lady and was rather 
crabbed. She wore a gray dress that looked just like herself. 

Mr. January was a gay looking youth who was dressed in white 
fur. Mr. February was a very short man but quite nice. He said 
he had just been skating and invited Miss October to go with him 
some time. 

At eleven o'clock supper was served. When all had had their 
fill of good things they returned to the drawing-room and danced 
till the clock struck twelve. They then dispersed to their different 
homes after enjoying a very pleasant evening. L. P. 



In Grammar Schools 39 

Grade 9. A Dream of Famous Persons 

It is very tiresome waiting for your supper, especially when you 
are hungry. I got so tired one day waiting for mine that I just lay 
down on the lounge in the library, and before I knew it I had the 
queerest feeling, just as you feel going down in a swift elevator. 

I opened my eyes to find myself sliding down some banisters (I 
never did such a thing before). When I reached the foot I stopped 
but did not go over the edge. It was so comfortable I thought I 
would stay there for a while and look around. 

Everything was made of polished ebony, even the stairs, and the 
floor. In the middle of the floor was a very odd coat of arms, 
composed of a skull and cross-bones. 

While I was still wondering I heard a great rustling and who 
should appear at the turn in the staircase but Queen Elizabeth, 
dressed in a slippery-looking silk embroidered with black cats with 
emerald eyes. It had a very long train, about ten or twelve yards I 
should judge. 

Just as Elizabeth reached the foot of the stairs and made a very 
fine bow to me, Philip II. came rushing along. He tripped over the 
train of Elizabeth^s dress and went coasting down the whole length 
of it. When he reached the end of his coast, which took some 
time, he said to Elizabeth, " I beg your pardon, Lizzie." Just think 
of calling the haughty Elizabeth " Lizzie ! " She looked at him, oh, 
such a look ! It was enough to scare anybody. The embroidered 
cats began to howl and howled for at least five minutes. Then 
Philip asked Elizabeth to marry him, but I guess it isn't well to put 
down what she said. 

Next came Shakespeare with two persons that I recognized as the 
Merchant of Venice and Juliet. Then came an artist whom I did 
not know at the time, but later I thought he was Van Dyck. Walter 
Scott and the Earl of Leicester walked along together. The earl 
was very angry and said he did not care to have his life made so 
public as Walter Scott had made it. 

After them came Dr. Holmes with a little boy and a lady dressed 
for an afternoon tea. First he said to the little boy, " Did you know 
you are composed of two arms, two legs, and a howl?" Then he 



40 Composition Work 

said to the lady, " Are you going to one of those giggle, gabble, 
gobble, git entertainments ? " 

I could see Paderewski banging on a piano, making more noise 
than the cats on Elizabeth's dress ; but just then I woke up to find 
my small brother pounding on some Japanese gongs. J. S. F. 



REPRODUCTION 
Grade 4. A Story of King Alfred 

Once upon a time in England there lived a king whose name was 
Alfred. He was brave and good. He was at war with Denmark. 

The Danes won ^lany battles and once their army was all scat- 
tered. Alfred went through woods and swamps. He came to a 
woodcutter's house and he asked the woman for something to eat. 

The woman was baking cakes and she said if he would tend the 
cakes until she milked the cow, she would give him something. 

He did not think of the cakes but about his army and how he 
should get it together again. When the woman came in she saw 
the cakes burning. She was angry, so I think he had to go to bed 
without supper that night. W. H. 

Grade 5. The Archery Contest at Nottingham 

Once a Sheriff of Nottingham wanted to catch Robin Hood very 
much. So he went to the king and asked him if he would let him 
have a few of his soldiers. But the king said, " If you cannot take 
care of the land, I will have some one take your place that can." 

The sheriff went home very downhearted with his men when sud- 
denly he slapped his knee and began to laugh, ''Ha! ha!" He said 
that he was going to have an archery contest. Robin Hood would 
surely come. He was going to give for the first prize a solid gold 
arrow. 

The sheriff had spies go around looking for Robin Hood but they 
could not find him. The contest went on and an old man with white 
hair and hand trembling shot an arrow in the bull's eye. The sheriff 
handed the old man the golden arrow. 



In Grammar Schools 41 

The sheriff gave a feast that night, and while they were eating an 
arrow came through the window and rattled among the dishes. 
They all started back for a moment, and then the sheriff stepped up 
and found an arrow done up in a piece of paper. The sheriff read, 
"To the Sheriff of Nottingham. Many thanks for the golden 
arrow. Robin Hood.''' E. M. 

Grade 6. Taming a Bear Cub 

A steamer coming from the gold fields in Alaska stopped at Juneau, 
where the captain received a bear cub. He named it Juneau. Every 
one on board tried to make friends with the cub, but they were not 
successful, for the little cub was cross and snarly. There was one 
person on board who persisted in being friends with the bear. She 
was a little Indian girl, Olga. 

Every night she carried cakes to him and though he ate them 
greedily he would not be friends with her. One day she took an 
apple and cut it into many pieces. Then she sat a little distance 
from the cub and placed the pieces in a line until they reached her 
feet. Then she put them over her knee, into her lap, up her arms 
and shoulders, and put the core on her head. She then sat as still 
as a statue. 

The bear came sniffing up to the apples and ate till he reached her 
feet. Then he stopped and looked at Olga, but she did not move. 
He put one paw on her knee and ate the pieces in her lap. He ate 
all until he came to the core. He climbed upon her shoulders and 
ate the core, and ran off to his box. 

Olga with great glee ran off to tell her friends. The next time 
they watched her. This time the bear did the same thing, only at 
the end he cuddled down in her lap and went to sleep. 

When the vessel reached San Francisco the captain gave the bear 
to the only person who could tame him. Juneau is still very fond 
of Olga. K. L. 

Grade 7. From ''The Courtship of Miles Standish'' 

Miles Standish and his men had marched many a mile before the 
people of Plymouth awoke. Many people went down to Plymouth 



42 Composition "Work 

Rock to see the Mayflower sail. John Alden went, and after it had 
sailed, Priscilla went to him and asked him if he was angry with 
her, and he said, " No." Then they cast a farewell glance at the 
Mayflower and walked home together. 

Meanwhile Miles Standish had marched northward and came to 
an Indian encampment. Here he fought a battle and won. 

One day John Alden was at the house of Priscilla. She was 
spinning, and he called her " Bertha, the beautiful spinner."" But 
while they were talking a messenger brought in haste the news that 
Miles Standish was dead, slain by a poisoned arrow. 

The wedding day soon came, and the minister was there to per- 
form the ceremony. While it was going on a form appeared in the 
doorway. It moved not and it spoke not. When the ceremony 
ended it came and grasped the hand of the bridegroom. It came 
to ask for forgiveness, for it was Miles Standish. He congratulated 
the bride and told the bridegroom how he was so angry, but had to 
be pardoned. People asked questions and others interrupted, and 
Miles Standish said he would rather be in an Indian encampment 
than at a wedding where he was not invited. He said he should 
have remembered the adage, "If you wish to be well served, do it 
yourself, and not leave it to others." M. W. 

Grade 8. Silverspot 

Silverspot was a wise old crow. His name came from the fact 
that he had a large white spot the size of a nickel between his eye 
and bill. His home was at Castle Frank, a pine forest. 

Silverspot was, to the other crows, a commander ; what he said, 
they did. He taught the young crows their duty, he taught them 
the difference between a girl and her brother, he showed them the 
corn, and the trap ; he also told them that an umbrella or a cane 
was not a gun. 

One day a gentleman was standing on a bridge. Old Silverspot 
warned the crows that danger was ahead. When he saw the man 
was not armed he flew over. Next day the man was in the same 
place, with his walking stick. Old Silverspot again warned the 
crows, saying, " Danger, a man with a gun." When he saw it was 



In Grammar Schools 43 

only a stick he flew over, about twenty feet above his head. The 
following day the man had a gun. Silverspot cried out, "Great 
danger, a gun, a gun, scatter." All flew in different directions. 
When at a safe distance they got into line again and continued 
their journey. Silverspot with his flock continued this journey, 
spring and autumn, for twenty years until one sad day Old Silverspot 
was killed by an owl which he had warned the young crows to be so 
careful of. M. F. 

Grade 9. The Passing of Arthur 

During a battle between King Arthur and Sir Mordred and his 
party, among the mountains. King Arthur was fatally wounded in the 
head. While lying on the battlefield. Sir Bedivere, one of the knights 
of the Round Table (nearly all of whom had been slain one by one 
during the battle), came to his assistance. He lifted him up and 
bore him to the chapel near by, where the king told him to take his 
jewelled sword, Excalibur, and cast it into the bosom of the lake 
which was near. He related to Sir Bedivere how one summer day 
in his younger days he lost his own sword on the banks of the lake, 
and how a wonderful arm robed with samite rose up from the lake 
holding Excalibur, and that he jumped into a boat, and rowed out 
and got it. Ever since that day he had carried it by his side, and 
now that he was to die, he wished to return it to the source from 
which it came. 

Sir Bedivere hastened to the lake with the sword. But as he 
stood there holding it, the moon suddenly came out from behind a 
cloud, and its light, shining so bright on the magnificent jewels, daz- 
zled him. He thought what a pity it would be to cast it away, and 
if he kept it, how pleased men would be to look at it as King Ar- 
thur's. So he hid it in the rushes and went back. The king asked 
him what he saw when he cast the sword into the lake, and he 
answered that he had seen nothing, and heard only the water lap- 
ping the crags and rippling among the rushes. "Then thou hast 
not fulfilled thine errand," answered the king. Again he went but 
returned with the same result. But the third time, turning away his 
head that he might not see the dazzling jewels, he cast it far into the 



44 Composition Work 

lake, and the wonderful arm again rose up and took it down into the 
depths. 

When Sir Bedivere returned to King Arthur, the king said, " Now 
I see by thine eyes that thou hast done thy duty." And the knight 
told him what he had seen. Then taking the king on his back, he 
went to the lake. As they approached, a black barge came sailing 
along, and in it were three queens clothed in black, and wearing 
golden crowns. They were weeping and wailing; and receiving 
King Arthur into their boat, they sailed away, never to be seen 
again. E. J. C. 



LETTERS 
Grade 4 

3149 Washington St., 

Roxbury, Mass., 
Jan. 30, 1902. 
Dear David: 

I have very much fun after school every night. I get 
my skates and hockey stick and go with boys up to Jamaica Pond. 
We play hockey, race, and cut the circle. As soon as they have 
fixed Franklin Field I will go up there and skate. 

The other day I went down to the playground on Columbus 
Avenue. As soon as I got there two boys took a long rope and 
tripped the boys and girls, but when the police came they ran and 
hid behind an old building. 

If you come over to my house Saturday we will go skating. 

Your true friend, 

R. C. 

Grade 5 

201 Eoylston St., 

Jamaica Plain, Mass., 
Nov. 25, 1901. 
Dear Ralph : 

I am going to have a big turkey Thanksgiving Day 

and I wish you to come to my house and have some of him, and we 



In Grammar Schools 45 

will have pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. We will have as much 
fun as anybody else. 

I have a big swing down in the cellar and you can swing up and 
touch the ceiling. My father is going to have a big pig's head in 
the window and it is going to be stuffed. Stony brook runs right 
behind my father's store. 

I would like to tell you that the little puppy hasn't grown any 
bigger. The big puppy is almost as big as the mother. I hope 
that you will write to me by and by and I would like to know if this 
is a good letter. 

Your loving cousin, 

J. E. W. G. 



Grade 6 

Roxbury, Mass., 
Jan. 31, 1902. 
Dear Mother : 

I received your kind and welcome letter and was 
glad to hear from you. We are all well except slight colds, but they 
do not bother us very much. 

Since you have been away Aunt Lizzie has been very sick and 
Mary and I went down to see her. She is getting along all right 
now and we hope she will be able to go out next week. Every day 
Mary and I keep house for papa and brother, and we have a very 
nice time. 

I have been to the Museum and there I saw many interesting 
things. I could not begin to tell you one-half in this letter. I have 
read through my large book which you bought me and it was very 
interesting. 

Papa, aunty, brother, and all the rest of the family send love to 
you and your friends. I hope you will write soon. 

Your affectionate daughter, 

S. A. 
41 Notre Dame St. 



46 Composition *Work 

Grade 7 

59 Atherton St., 
Roxbury, Mass., 
Jan. 31, 1901. 
Dear Jessie: 

I have written you two letters and you have not 
answered them, so I thought perhaps you were sick. 

We had a little snow last night and I expect to go coasting after 
school this afternoon. I am going to take dancing lessons, and am 
to have my picture taken vv'ith some other girls next Saturday. 

I am reading a very nice book called " The House of the Seven 
Gables." It is about a lady named Hepzibah Pyncheon and she 
lives in a house where many generations have lived ever since the 
Puritans. She grows very poor and sets up a grocery shop, and her 
cousin Phoebe helps her. It is very interesting, and if you would 
like to read it, I will let you take it. 

I hope you and your family are as well as we are. K — sends her 
love, and she would like to have you visit her the next time you come 
this way. 

Hoping I shall see you soon, I remain 

Your sincere friend, 

C. H. 

Grade 8 

14 Walnut Park, Roxbury, Mass., 
March 27, 1898. 
My dear Arthur: 

I received your note and was very glad to hear 
from you. I am very sorry Henry is sick and can't come Saturday 
but perhaps Wednesday will do. 

I suppose you know Jack has gone to the Klondike for two years. 
I got a letter from him a few days ago and he says that he has had 
enough of cold weather, but that he is going to stay the two years. 
I don't think he will. 

We have planned for you to go to the Sportsman's Show Saturday 
evening with us. I hope it will be all right. I have just finished 
the book you loaned me and I found it very interesting, especially 
the latter part, and I think it explains Norwegian life splendidly. 



In Grammar Schools 47 

I suppose you ride your wheel to the office every pleasant morn- 
ing. I have not ridden mine for about a week as it has been so 
windy. 

Well, I shall see you Saturday. Come up early ; if you like, come 
to dinner and then you won't have to go home. 
Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain 

Your sincere friend, 

M. P. 

Grade 9 

2963 Washington St., 

Roxbury, Mass., 
April 25, 1900. 
Dear George: 

I received your letter last week and I was so busy I 
had to wait until to-day to answer it. We played our first game of 
ball on the nineteenth of April. We played a team from East 
Boston and won by one run. Harry S. pitched and John M. caught 
for us. It was a very good game. The score was four to four in the 
ninth inning, when Ralph E. made a home run and won the game. 

I have not played ball this week as it rained and spoiled the field. 
We shall have to play in the Park this summer because they are 
building houses on our field. The Park has changed a great deal 
since you moved, and the flagpole has been taken from the playstead 
to Franklin Field. 

I still keep pigeons and have great fun with them. I go up to the 
Park with them and let them fly to see which one gets home first. 
I bought two tumblers from Frank M., and one fan-tail. Pve sold 
all my hens to Harry B. to make more room for the pigeons. 

I have had a letter from Norcross G., who is in the Philippines. 
He says Manilla is a great place to live. He was very sick on the 
way over but after a while he got used to the sea. He says he wrote 
you a letter too, so there is no use in telling you the rest. 

I hope you are getting along as well in work as you do in play. 
I must bid you good-by for the time being, and I remain 

Yours truly, 

T. K. 



64 ENGLISH. • 



Practical Lessons in the Use of English. 

By Mary F. Hyde. First Book. For primary and intermediate schools. 
Cloth. 152 pages. Introduction price, 35 cents. Second Book. For grammar 
grades. Cloth. 238 pages. Introduction price, 50 cents. Second Book, with 
Supplement. Cloth. 362 pages. Introduction price, 60 cents. 
The Second Book may be had with Practical Grammar bound with it. Cloth. 
438 pages. Introduction price, 70 cents. 

THESE books give the pupil practical aid in speaking and in 
writiiig English. The First Book contains such exercises as 
are needed by pupils when they begin to write English. It includes 
graded lessons in the forms and uses of words and sentences, dicta- 
tion and reproduction exercises, picture lessons, choice selections 
for memorizing, practice in letter-writing, etc. 

The Second Book, for pupils in grammar schools. It covers 
such technical grammar as is essential to a correct use of the 
language, gives many selections for study from the best writers, 
practical exercises in composition, and special instruction in writing 
letters, invitations, advertisements, public notices, etc. 

The Supplement provides for a thorough review of all the gram- 
matical principles taught in the preceding parts and also for a more 
extended application of those principles. 

A Practical English Grammar : 

Advanced Lessons i}i English. By Mary F. Hyde. Cloth. 210 pages. 
Introduction price, 50 cents. This book may be had bound with Second Book. 
438 pages. Introduction price, 70 cents. 

THE aim of this work is to give the pupil a mastery of the funda- 
mental grammatical principles as a means toward the right 
understanding and correct use of English. 

It can be used independently of the other books in the author's 
series, but it is specially adapted to the needs of pupils who have 
completed the first two books in that series. The three books furnish 
a complete and systematic course in language and grammar. 



Derivation of IVords. 



With exercises on Prefixes, Suffixes and Stems. By Mary F. Hyde, author 
of Practical Lessons in the Use of English. Paper. 64 pages. Introduction 
price, 10 cents. Also bound with Hyde's Lessons, Book II, with supplement. 



ENGLISH. 65 



Two-Book Course in English, 

By Mary F. Hyde, author of " Practical Lessons in the Use of English," 
" Practical English Grammar," etc 

Book I: Lessons in the Use of English. Cloth. Illustrated. 223 pages. In- 
troduction price, 35 cents. 

Book II: Practical English Grammar, with Exercises in Composition. Cloth. 
331 pages. Introduction price, 60 cents. 

THE addition of languages other than English to the curriculum 
of many elementary schools, and the increasing exactions in 
English requirements of colleges and high schools, have laid new 
burdens upon teachers of language and grammar. Miss Hyde has 
recognized these new conditions and has prepared the Two-Book 
Course to meet them. 

Book One possesses three marked characteristics that distinguish 
Miss Hyde's new work from that of other authors: First, the con- 
sistent use of the sentence as the basis of study ; second, the plan of 
development that to the learner is natural; and third, a unity of 
method. 

Special attention is given to oral composition, to the study of 
fables and classic myths, to written composition and letter writing. 
The treatment of the different parts of speech shows that the author 
is in touch with the latest thought, and that to this she adds the 
experience of the practical teacher. 

In Book Two the introduction of the study of the paragraph, of 
clause analysis, and other topics that have usually been deferred for 
study in the high school, shows the progress that has been made in 
the last few years in the teaching of English in the grammar schools. 
In this book are presented with clearness and force all the facts of 
technical grammar. This technical grammar, however, is not pre- 
sented in isolated and disconnected form, but its study is so inter- 
woven with constructive work and with the study of literature that its 
analytic methods supplement and complete the synthetic work tliat 
characterizes Book One. 

The most exacting critic could not ask for a more intelligent and 
satisfactory- treatment of syntax, or a more comprehensive application 
of clause and phrase analysis than Book Two contains, and, best of 
all, this matter is so presented as to appear the natural expression oi 
thouo-ht. 



66 ENGLISH: 

The Practical Speller and Definer. 

By B. K. Benson and F. A. Glenn. Boards. 253 pages. Introduction price, 
30 cents. 

THE day of the old-fashioned spelling-book, which encouraged drill- 
ing the pupil upon mere forms, is happily passing away. The 
most valuable habit the pupil can acquire is the habit of thought in 
connection with speech; this habit will be easily formed by every 
pupil properly taught the seven hundred and twenty-seven lessons in 
"The Practical Speller and Definer." 



The Practical Speller, 



By B. K. Benson. First Book, 261 lessons. Boards. Introduction price, 18 
cents. Second Book, 270 lessons. Boards. Introduction price, 18 cents. Com- 
bined Book. Introduction price : cloth, 25 cents. 

IN preparing these books, the entire English vocabulary was gone 
over, and from it were rejected words in the following classes : 
{a) Technical, {b) Colloquial, {c) Simple words of such common 
use as to need no study, {d) Derivatives whose spelling is known 
as soon as the primitives are known. The remaining words — about 
13,000, and comprising the great body of useful English — were 
arranged in seven classes, corresponding to the grades in school. 



The Progressive Speller. 



For Primary and Grammar Grades. By F. P. Sever. Revised edition, with 
vertical script. Boards. 172 pages. Introduction price, 25 cents. 

THIS book is devoted to the spelling, the pronunciation, the mean- 
ing, and the use of words. Modern methods of teaching spelling 
are fully illustrated by practical examples and actual work. The 
entire book is prepared with the belief, as the author has expressed 
in his preface, that the teacher's duty does not end with "giving out " 
the words. 

Common IVords Difficult to Spell, 

By James H. Penniman, Instructor in English in the De Lancey School, 
Philadelphia. Boards. 96 pages. Introduction price, 20 cents. 

HIS book consists of a graded list of 3,500 words which experi- 
ence has shown are most frequently misspelled. 



T 



ENGLISH. 67 

New Practical Speller. 

By James H. Penniman, Instructor in English in the De Lancey School, 
Philadelphia, and author of " Common Words Difficult to Spell." Cloth. 
160 pages. Introduction price, 20 cents. 

CONTAINS 6,500 difficult common words selected and arranged 
in accordance with the best recent thought on the subject of 
spelling. The secret of success is concentrated effort on the words 
that are likely to be misspelled and on the letters where the mistake 
is likely to be made. The book provides for the study of synonyms 
and pronunciation, and by dictation exercises affords practice in the 
use of capitals and marks of punctuation; it also contains a series 
of practical suggestions about teaching spelling. 

The following appreciative review, from \}(\^ Journal of Education^ 
enumerates its unique excellencies : " Penniman's New Practical 
Speller deserves the widest use as well as the most loyal admiration of 
schoolmen. It is refreshing to find a man who makes a text-book on 
his own account and has stolen nothing from others, especially one 
who can do this without being cranky. Mr. Penniman has made a 
speller because he thinks he knows how to teach children to spell 
correctly. One feature of the book is admirable beyond expression: 
he has classified without telling in headlines that he has classified. 
He insists that the teacher has some brains and is not afraid to use 
them. There are usually fifty words on a page, and there is, as a 
rule, some classification that is sensible and useful. 

" At the bottom of each page in about six lines, some illustrative 
use is made of from five to ten of the words on that page, and if the 
teacher is not wholly devoid of wit, she knows how to apply these 
illustrations to the remaining words on the page."' 

Prose Dictation Exercises 



from the English Classics^ with Hints on Punctuation and Parsing. By 
James H. Penniman. Boards. 84 pages. Introduction price, 25 cents. 

THIS book consists of a series of fifty extracts from English prose 
classics, arranged for careful study. It is beheved that the use 
of these exercises will show results in the way of more elevated 
thought, clearer expression, and better spelling and pronunciation. 



68 ENGLISH. 



A School Grammar of the English Lan- 
guage. By Edward A. Allen, Professor of the English Language and 
Literature in the University of Missouri. Cloth. 175 pages. Introduction 
price, 60 cents. 

THIS book presents the fundamental principles of English 
grammar in a form adapted to schools as they are to-day, and 
lays the foundation for a logical knowledge of Enghsh idiom that 
will be effective in the student's own use of language. 

The large number of exercises furnish abundant practice for every 

principle and offer material for elaboration by the teacher ad libitum. 

The name of the author, a recognized authority on the English 

language, is a guarantee of the careful and exact scholarship that is 

apparent in the treatment of every part of the subject. 

The Essentials of the English Sentence. 

By Elias J. McEwAN, author of " The Essentials of Argumentation." Cloth. 
318 pages. Introduction price, 75 cents. 

THIS manual is intended for the use of those who already have 
an elementary knowledge of grammar. Its purpose is to classify, 
make definite and extend such knowledge as may be gained in ele- 
mentary courses. Diagrams and outlines are discreetly used and 
will be found economical in reviews and for reference. 

The author has followed closely the arrangement of grammars for 
other languages, particularly in the development of the predicate, 
and his book will be found especially helpful by those students who 
are subsequently to take up the study of foreign languages. 

English Grammar, 

Outlines of English Grammar with continuous Selections for Practice, By 
Harriet Mathews, late Teacher of English Grammar in the State Normal 
School, Trenton, N.J. Cloth. 266 pages. Introduction price, 70 cents. 

THIS book is designed to furnish a full course in English grammar 
for all classes except those pursuing special advanced work. 
The book is devoted to grammatical work and presents the subject in 
connection with choice selections and extracts as well as selected 
sentences. The aim of the work is to teach from the materials of 
the English language the principles of its grammar as a science. 



ENGLISH. 69 



The Principles of Composition, 

By Henry G. Pearson, Professor in English at the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology. With an Introduction by Arlo Bates. Cloth. 165 pages. 
Introductioii price, 50 cents. 

THIS book has several distinctive merits that commend it as a 
practical guide for class work. It begins where the student must 
begin, with the consideration of the composition as a whole. Para- 
graphs, sentences, words, etc., are treated later, and in this order. 
By reversing the traditional order of topics, the discussion of prin- 
ciples gains in clearness and compactness, and their application is 
more readily made. Each chapter seeks to eiTect a definite practical 
purpose, and the means used are free from pettiness and pedantry. 

Subject matter, illustrative examples, topics for investigation, have 
all stood the test of use. The book has grown in the class-room in 
response to the needs of an alert and practical-minded body of students 
to whom linguistic study does not appeal as an end in itself. Its mas- 
tery insures command of clear and forceful English. 

Isaac N. Demmon, Prof, of Ettg- 
lish and Rhetoric, Univ. of Michigan, 
Ann Arbor, Mich. : I take much plea- 



sure in commending the author's clear and 
sensible handling of his subject. 

Albert S. Cook, Prof, of English, 
Yale Univ., New Haven, Co7tn.: A sen- 
sible and well-constructed book. 



George H. Browne, Prin. The 

Browne and Nichols School, Cambridge, 
Mass. : If formal exercises in English 
Composition are to be given at all. no 
better book can be found for upper classes, 
for its emphasis is just right. The book 
tells what to do and how to do it so clearly 
that pupils can do it. 



The Problem of Elementary Composition, 

Suggestions for its Solution. By Elizabeth H. Spalding, Instructor in 
English, Pratt Institute. 120 pages. Cloth. Introduction price, 40 cents. 

AN inspiring book, that lifts the task of teaching English out of the 
pit of routine, and makes it appear fresh and attractive. 
It suggests helpful questions, and ways of arousing thought and 
fostering sensibility ; it also unifies work in composition with that in 
other studies, especially in geography, science, history and literature. 
Teachers in primary and grammar schools will find this book 
pecuharly adapted to their needs. 

E. H. Lewis, Pres. Lewis Inst., Chi- 1 Katharine Lee Bates, Prof, in 
cago. III.: I find it hard to praise this] Wellesley College, Mass. : It bristles with 
book enough. I ideas and elicits my most cordial approval. 



96 READINC 



Plant Life. 

By Florence Bass of Indianapolis, Ind. Revised and enlarged edition. 
158 pages. Introduction price, 25 cents. 

ADAPTED to second-grade pupils and especially designed to teach 
some of the most interesting facts about plants through stories 
presenting the life and growth of individual plants, — in terms of 
human life. This puts the child in touch with Nature and gives him 
the poetic view. In her preface to the children the author says : "In 
these lessons I have tried to help you find out some of the many things 
til at are told us without words, by things that we see every day." 

Animal Life. 

By Florence Bass, Indianapolis, Ind. Boards. 183 pages. Illustrated. 
Introduction price, 35 cents. 

THIS book is designed to be used in connection with, or imme- 
diately following, the author's book on plant life in the same 
series, and is adapted to second-grade pupils. It contains chiefly, 
stories of insects, illustrating some of their varied means of self- 
protection, their methods of home-building, of caring for their young, 
the transformations they undergo, etc. It is not intended that these 
lessons should take the place of observation, but that they should 
supplement such work. 

The author has aimed to give the child the poetic view of this phase 
of life, hoping to lead him to observe such life in its natural environ- 
ment. Half the cruelty shown by little children comes from thought- 
lessness. The chief aim of the author has been to present the facts in 
such a light as to make children more thoughtful, therefore more merci- 
ful to beings weaker than themselves, and ultimately to their own kind. 

The Life of a Bean. 

By Mary E. Laing, recently Instructor in the State Normal School at 
Oswego, N. Y. Paper. Illustrated. 41 pages. Introduction price, 15 cents. 

THIS is a science primer, written to supplement nature study in 
the first grade. It presents series of reading lessons on the 
bean plant and emphasizes those features of growth, structure, and 
environment, likely to interest children, and to afford a basis for 
future study. 



READING. 97 



Stories of Pioneer Life. 



By Florence Bass, author of " The Beginner's Reader," " Plant Life" and 
" Animal Life." Cloth. 146 pages. Illustrated. Introduction price, 40 cents. 

WHILE this book is not in itself a history, it aims to prepare the 
children's minds for such study. This it does by a series of 
stories showing the different conditions of the people in the Ohio 
Valley States, from the time of the Indians till the coming of the 
railroad and telegraph, which united them with the older States and 
so terminated their greatest hardships. 

On account of the difficulty of travel and the bitter enmity of the 
Indians, the dangers and privations attending the settlement of this 
section of our country were perhaps greater than those of other sec- 
tions. So here are found many examples of courage and endurance 
that are unsurpassed ; a knowledge of such cannot fail to be of in- 
terest and value to children. 

The book is adapted in thought and expression to the ability of 
advanced second or beginning third year pupils. 

From September to yune with Nature. 

A reader for primary grades. By Minetta L. Warren. Boards. 196 
pages. Introduction price, 35 cents. 

THIS book is intended to be used with other first readers, either 
as a regular or supplementary text-book, and is prepared upon 
an entirely new and original plan. It contains lessons upon both 
plant and animal life. The work is divided into months, each group 
being especially appropriate to a particular month. Each lesson is 
drawn from the preceding one, so that there is no break in continuity. 
The lessons particularly emphasize the preparation of plant and 
animal life for winter, "the going-to-sleep" of Nature and its glad 
awakening in the spring. The author has attempted to show the 
interdependence of plant and animal life, to give the child in this way 
an idea of the unity of nature, and to lead him to an appreciation of 
the beautiful, though common, things about him. The book contains 
numerous quotations from the poets, is beautifully illustrated, and has 
been proved, by actual experience, to be within the comprehension 
of the ordinary first-reader pupil. 



98 READIN(?. 



The Bird Book. 

A Natural History of Birds. By Fannie Hardy Eckstorm. Cloth. Fully 
illustrated from nature. 288 pages. Introduction price, 60 cents. 

THIS book is particularly valuable as a natural history of birds. 
It tells how Nature develops birds to meet the many conditions 
of bird life — their structual modifications, their color variations, their 
changed and changing habits and their varied habitat. The lives of 
nearly one hundred birds receive particular study, and all, with two 
exceptions, are birds that are well known, abundant, easily observed, 
and resident in nearly all parts of the country. 

The book gives the pupil a habit of keen observation and an in- 
terest and enthusiasm in bird study. It is suited to the higher 
grammar grades. 

Our Feathered Friends, 

By Elizabeth and Joseph Grinnell. Boards. 152 pages. Fully illus- 
trated with drawings from nature. Introduction price, 30 cents. 

NO child can read this book and fail to become a more keen and 
intelligent observer of birds and their ways. The authors make 
use of the results of accurate personal observation, and appeal to the 
fancy and imagination of children in such a way as to bring them into 
sympathetic touch with nature. More than forty common varieties 
are treated, and also a few rare birds of especial interest. 

The illustrations are numerous, and in accuracy excel any other 
series that has been included in a book for schools. 

The book is adapted to children in the middle and upper grades. 

My Saturday Bird Class, 

Edited by Margaret Miller. Boards. 112 pages. Illustrated. Intro' 
duction price, 25 cents. 

THIS small volume contains a graphic account of a class taught by 
the author. The more familiar birds were described, and at the 
close of each lesson a walk was taken for practical observation. 

The book may be used as a supplementary reader, or as an aid to 
the teacher. It is especially adapted for the spring term. 



READING. 99 

Nature Readers : Sea-side and Way-side. 

By Julia McNair Wright. New edition, more fully illustrated, and bound 
attractively in cloth. Boards. No. I, 120 pages. Introduction price, 25 cents. 
No. II, 192 pages. Introduction price, 35 cents. No. Ill, 275 pages. Intro- 
duction price, 45 cents. No. IV, 372 pages. Introduction price, 50 cents. 

THIS is a series of illustrated readers intended to awaken in young 
children a taste for scientific study, to develop their powers of 
attention, and to encourage thought and observation, by directing 
their minds to the living things that meet their eyes on the road-side, 
at the sea-shore, and about their homes. 

They explain in clear and simple style, without technical language, 
the anatomy and the life histories of the subjects studied, giving 
their actions and homes the graphic interest of individuality, so that, 
without any illusions of imagination or allegory, they possess, as one 
eminent primary teacher has said, " all the fascination of a fairytale." 

Published in America, they were at once republished in England. 
They have been translated into Chinese and published in China. 
They have been adopted by Japan, by EngHsh school-s of Rhodes 
and Cyprus, and are in use in many schools of France, Belgium and 
other European nations. 

The First Reader treats of crabs, wasps, spiders, bees and some 
univalve mollusks. 

The Second Reader treats of ants, flies, earth-worms, beetles, 
barnacles, star- fish and dragon-flies. 

The Third Reader has lessons on plant life, butterflies and birds. 

The Fourth Reader treats of elementary geology and astronomy. 

Leaves and Flowers. 

By Mary A. Spear, late Principal Model School, State Normal School, West 
Chester, Pa. Boards. 1 11 pages. Introduction price, 25 cents. 

THIS is intended for pupils in second and third grades. As a 
text-book, its aim is to lead children to observe the plant life 
by which they are surrounded and to describe and name those parts 
which can be seen without artiflcial aids. 

As a reading-book, it gives practice in the use of words employed 
in plant studies. New thoughts are repeated in short, simple sen- 
tences and a sure command of language gained by dealing with 
strictly defined ideas. 

LofC. 



loo READING. • 



S fortes of Long ^go. 



By Grace H. Kupfer. Boards. Illustrated. 170 pages. Introduction price, 
35 cents. By mail, 40 cents. Cloth. Retail price, 75 cents. 

THE author presents in a new dress about forty of the most interest- 
ing Greek myths and legends, written in a charming style, for 
children from eight to twelve years of age. The book also contains a 
large number of the best short poems suitable for children, and based 
on the myths of the Greeks. It is beautifully illustrated with about 
twenty reproductions of world-famous statues and paintings. 

The whole forms a collection of great value for supplementary read- 
ing or for home use. It is more than an easy introduction to my- 
thology. So many of these myths and legends have entered modern 
literature and art that it is necessary to be familiar with them in order 
to appreciate a large part of what is of most worth. 



Stories of Old Greece. 



By Emma M. Firth. Boards. 108 pages. Illustrated. Introduction price, 
30 cents. By mail, 35 cents. Library edition on heavier paper. Cloth. Retail 
price, 75 cents. 

THIS book contains seventeen Greek myths adapted for reading in 
intermediate grades. Prof. James Baldwin, author of the "Book 
Lover," says of it, "These stories have been written with an intelli- 
gent appreciation of the educative value of the myth." 



Orville T. Bright, Cook County Supt. 
of Schools, III. : The stories seem to me 
admirably told. The book will be a great 
addition to juvenile literature. 



T. W. Harris, Supt. of Schools, Keene, 
N. H.: It is excellent. The thoughts of 
the childhood of the race are admirably 
fitted for the children of the present. 



Reading Methods^ -^f Chapter on Spelling, 

By E. C. Branson, recently Director Normal Department Georgia Normal 
and Industrial College. Paper. 39 pages. Retail price, 15 cents. 

THIS little monograph is intended to be suggestive, not prescrip- 
tive, and seeks to ground the work of teaching reading upon safe 
principles. It pursues an eclectic course, including the useful features 
of the phonetic, word and sentence methods. Chapter IV is devoted 
to Children's Reading Courses, and Chapter V presents many usefu> 
devices for teaching spelling. 



READING. lOT 

Strange Peoples, 

By Frederick Starr, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of 
Chicago, and author of " American Indians." Cloth. 196 pages. Illustrated. 
Introduction price, 40 cents. 

IN scope this book includes accounts of peoples in all the continents 
and great islands of the globe, and gives, not alone the charac- 
teristics of the great divisions of the human family, but also the 
striking traits and peculiarities of the different tribes in their social, 
domestic and religious life. It is filled with interesting and instruct- 
ive facts, and is a valuable aid to the study of geography in the 
earlier grammar grades. The illustrations are numerous and in many 
instances from the author's original photographs. 

America7i Iitdians. 



By Frederick Starr, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of 
Chicago. Cloth. 340 Pages. Illustrated. Introduction price, 45 cents. 

THIS is entitled to rank among the very few books upon the sub- 
ject that are at once accurate and interesting. 

The style and method of treatment are not beyond the grasp of 
pupils in the grammar grades. Every statement in the book is trust- 
worthy. The author's personal knowledge of the customs and mode 
of life of some thirty different Indian tribes, and his unrivalled oppor- 
tunities for investigation, have combined to make the work one of 
unusual merit. Both the past and the present life of the Indians is 
portrayed, and no important tribal peculiarity is neglected. 

The illustrations are numerous, many being taken from life. 

Docas, the Indian Boy of Santa Clara. 

By Genevra Sisson Snedden. Boards. Illustrated. 160 pages. Introduc- 
tion price, 35 cents. 

THIS attractive story of the life of the Indian of southern California 
is suited for the use of intermediate classes. It portrays the 
habits and customs of a race of rare good qualities, and gives an accu- 
rate picture of life in California just before it became a part of the 
United States. Such a book can serve an important end as an intro- 
duction to geography and history. It has literary merit, and is the 
work of a remarkably successful teacher. 



I02 READING. * 



rhe Heart of Oak Books 



A series of Reading Books for Home and School. Edited by Professor Chas. 
Eliot Norton of Harvard University. 

Book I. Cloth. IDG pages. Introduction price, 25 cents. By mail, 30 cents. 

Book n. Cloth. 142 pages. Introduction price, 35 cents. By mail, 40 cents. 

Book HI. Cloth. 265 pages. Introduction price, 45 cents. By mail, 50 cents. 

Book IV, Cloth. 303 pages. Introduction price, 50 cents. By mail, 60 cents. 

Book V. Cloth. 359 pages. Introduction price, 55 cents. By mail. 65 cents 

Book VI. Cloth. 367 pages. Introduction price, 60 cents. By mail, 70 cents. 

THESE books are intended to provide the means for the culture 
which good reading affords. The selections which they contain 
form a body of reading adapted to the progressive needs of childhood 
and youth, chosen from the masterpieces of the literature of the English- 
speaking race. For the most part they are pieces already familiar and 
long accepted as among the best, wherever the English language is 
spoken. The youth who shall become acquainted with the contents of 
these volumes will share in the common stock of the intellectual life of 
the race to which he belongs ; and he will have the door opened to him 
of all the vast and noble resources of that life. 

The books are meant alike for the school and the family. The teacher 
who may use them in the school-room will find in them a variety large 
enough for the different capacities and interests of his pupils, and will 
find nothing in them but what may be of service to himself also. 
Every competent teacher will already be possessed of much of what they 
contain ; but the worth of the masterpieces of any art increases with use 
and familiarity of association. They grow fresher by custom, and the 
love of them deepens in proportion to the time we have known them, 
and to the memories with which they become invested. 

The books are meant, in brief, not only as manuals for learning to 
read, but as helps to the cultivation of the taste, and to the healthy 
development of the imagination of those who use them, and thus to the 
formation and invigoration of the best elements of character. 

The first book begins with old childish rhymes and jingles, and with 
some ot the most widely known fables and stories. In the second boo3c 
are favorite fables and stories of adventure. In the third book are 
some of the best poems of childhood, old stories, and fairy tales. In 
the three remaining volumes are shorter poems and prose writings. 

\_Send for full descriptive circular. 



READING. 103 



Americas Story for America s Children. 

A series of history readers by Mara L. Pratt. In five books. 

Book I. — The Beginner's Book. This is introductory to the series, 
and is adapted to third and fourth year classes. Its purpose is to de- 
velop centers of interest, and to present the picturesque and personal 
incidents connected with the greater events in our history. 

The book contains about sixty illustrations, four of which are in 
color. Cloth. 132 pages. Introduction price, 35 cents. 

Book II. — Exploration and Discovery: 1000- 1609. The second 
book tells the story of the great discoverers and explorers from the 
time of Leif Ericson to Henry Hudson. It portrays the pomp and 
pride of the Spanish, the simple life and customs of the aborigines, 
and the sturdy temper of the early English and Dutch. Cloth. 
Illustrations and maps. 160 pages. Introduction price, 40 cents. 

Book III. — The Early Colonies : 1 609-1 733. The story of the found- 
ing of the first settlements on this continent and of the beginnings of 
the thirteen colonies. The style is animated and attractive ; the sub- 
ject matter includes the results of research, and the most accurate 
data that are available concerning the earlier colonial period. Cloth. 
Illustrations and maps. 160 pages. Introduction price, 40 cents. 

Book IV. — The Later Colonial Period. This volume treats of the 
early settlements in the Mississippi Valley, the French and Indian 
Wars, etc., and gives vivid and definite ideas of the heroes of the 
later colonial period. Cloth. Illustrations and maps. 160 pages. 
Introduction price, 40 cents. 

Book V. — The Foundations of the Republic. This volume tells the 
story of the Revolution, the causes that led to it, and of the men who 
laid the foundations of the Republic. Cloth. Illustrations and maps. 
180 pages. Introduction price, 40 cents. 

Throughout this series life, personality, and picturesque qualities 
have been cherished, and at the same time care has been taken to 
secure accuracy in statement of fact. It is believed that the series 
will prove as attractive to pupils as a romance and will have the advan- 
tage of supplementing instruction in history in an effective manner. 



Heath's Home and School Classics. 



FOR GRADES I AND II. 

Mother Goose : A Book of Nursery Rhymes, arranged by C. Welsh. In two parts. Uluft 
trated by Clara E. Atwood. Paper, each part, lo cents ; cloth, two parts bound in one, 
30 cents. 

Craik'S So Fat and Mew Mew. Introduction by Lucy M. Wheelock. Illustrated by 
C. M. Howard. Paper, 10 cents; cloth, 20 cents. 

Six Nursery Classics : The House That Jack Built; Mother Hubbard; Cock Robin; 
The Old Woman and Her Pig; Dame Wiggins of Lee, and the Three Bears. Edited 
by M. V. O'Shea. Illustrated by Ernest Fosbery. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 

FOR GRADES 11 AND IIL 

Crib and Fly : A Tale of Two Terriers. Edited by Charles F. Dole. Illustrated by 

Gwendoline Sandham. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Goody Two Shoes. Attributed to Oliver Goldsmith. Edited by Charles Welsh. With 

twenty-eight illustrations after the wood-cuts in the original edition of 1765. Paper, 

10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Segur'S The Story of a Donkey. Translated by C. Welsh. Edited by Charles F. Dole. 

Illustrated by E. H. Saunders. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 

FOR GRADES III AND IV. 

Trimmer's The History of the Robins. Edited by Edward Everett Hale. Illustrated 

by C. M, Howard. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Aiken and Barbauld's Eyes and No Eyes, and Other Stories. Edited by M. V. O'Shea. 

Illustrated by H. P. Barnes and C. M. Howard. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Edgeworth'S Waste Not, Want Not, and Other Stories, Edited bv M. V. O'Shea. 

Illustrated by W. P. Bodwell. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Ruskin's The King of the Golden River. Edited by M. V. O'Shea. Illustrated by 

Sears Gallagher. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Browne's The Wonderful Chair and The Tales It Told. Edited by M. V. O'Shea. 

Illustrated by Clara E. Atwood after Mrs. Seymour Lucas. In two parts. Paper, each 

part, 10 cents ; cloth, two parts bound in one, 30 cents. 

FOR GRADES IV AND V. 

Thackeray's The Rose and the Ring. A Fairy Tale. Edited by Edward Everett Hale. 

Illustrations by Thackeray. Paper, 15 cents ; cloth, 25 cents, 
Ingelow'S Three Fairy Stories. Edited by Charles F. Dole. Illustrated by E. Ripley. 

Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Ayrton's Child Life in Japan and Japanese Child Stories. Edited by William Elliot 

Griffis. Illustrated by Japanese Artists. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Ewing'S Jackanapes. Edited by W. P. Trent. Illustrated by Josephine Bruce. Paper, 

10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
WulOCh's The Little Lame Prince. Preface by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward. Ilius- 

trated by Miss E. B. Barry. In two parts. Paper, each part, ic cents ; cloth, two parts 

bound in one, 30 cents. , . 



Heath's Home and School Classics — Continued. 



FOR GRADES V AND VI. 

Lamb's The Adventures of Ulysses. Edited by W. P. Trent Illustrations after Flax* 

man. Paper, 15 cents ; cloth, 25 cents. 
Gulliver's Travels. I. A Voyage to Lilliput. II. A Voyage to Brobdingnag. Edited 

by T. M. Balliet. Fully illustrated. In two parts. Paper, each part, 15 cents ; cloth, 

two parts bound in one, 30 cents. 
Ewing'S The Story of a Short Life. Edited by T. M. Balliet. Illustrated by A. F, 

Schmitt. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Tales From the Travels of Baron Munchausen. Edited by Edward Everett Hale. Illus- 

trated by H. P. Barnes after Dore. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 
Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Edited by Edward Everett Hale. Illustrated. In four 

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FOR GRADES VI AND VII. 

Lamb's Tales From Shakespeare. Introduction by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward, 
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cents ; cloth, three parts bound in one, 40 cents. 

Martineau's The Crofton Boys. Edited by William Elliot Griffis. Illustrated by A. F. 
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cents. 

Motley's The Siege of Leyden. Edited by William Elliot Griffis. With nineteen illus- 
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cents. 

Brown's Rab and His Friends and Stories of Our Dogs. Edited by T. M. Balliet. 
Illustrated by David L. Munroe after Sir Noel Paton, Mrs. Blackburn, George Hardy, 
and Lumb Stocks. Paper, 10 cents ; cloth, 20 cents. 

FOR GRADES VII, VIII AND IX. 

Hamerton's Chapters on Animals : Dogs, Cats and Horses. Edited by W. P. Trent. 
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Irving'S Dolph Heyliger. Edited by G. H. Browne. Illustrated by H. P. Barnes. 
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Shakespeare's The Tempest. Edited by Sarah W. Hiestand. Illustrations after Retzch 
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Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Edited by Sarah W. Hiestand. Illus- 
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Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. Edited by Sarah W. Hiestand. Illustrations 
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cents. 

Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. Edited by Sarah W. Hiestand. Illustrations after 
Leslie, Wheatley, Wright, and the bust in Westminster Abbey. Paper, 15 cents ; cloth, 
25 cents. 

Other numbers in preparation. Full descriptive circular sent free upon request. 
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D. C. HEATH & CO.,Publishers,Boston,New York, Chicago 



Elementary English, 



Allen's School Grammar of the English Language. A clear, concise, adequate, teach 
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Badlam's Suggestive Lessons in Language and Reading. A manual for primary 
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Badlam's Suggestive Lessons in Language. Being Part I and Appendix of Suggestive 
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Benson's Practical Speller. Contains nearly 13,000 words. Part I, 261 Lessons, 18 cents ; 
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Benson and Glenn's Speller and Deflner. 700 spelling and defining lists. 30 cents. 

Branson's Methods in Reading. With a chapter on spelling. 15 cents. 

Buckbee'S Primary Word Book. Drills in articulation and in phonics. 25 cents. 

Fuller's Phonetic Drill Charts. Exercises in elementary sounds. Per set (3) 10 cents. 

Hall's How to Teach Reading. Also discusses what children should read. 25 cents. 

Hyde's Two-Book Course in English, Book I. Practical lessons in the correct use of Eng 
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Hyde's Two-Book Course in English, Book II. A carefully graded course of lessons in 
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Penniman'S Common Words Difficult to Spell. Graded list of 3500 common words. 20 
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Penniman'S Prose Dictation Exercises. For drill in spelling, punctuation and use o! 
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Philips 's History and Literature in Grammar Grades, is cents. 

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NOV 101902 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



Monographs on ] 




An outline- 



Branson' 8 Methods in Teaching Arithmetic. 

common school methods . . . . . \~ 

Branson's Reading Methods, with a chapter on Spelling. Si 
ive methods for the first three years in school 

Clapp's Observation Lessons in Minerals. Directions for the obser- 
vation of thirty-six different specimens 

Clapp and Huston's Conduct of Composition Work in Grammar 
Schools. Practical directions and lists of excellent subjects 

Genung's Study of Rhetoric. Shows the most practical discipline of 
students for the making of literature 

Hall's How To Teach Reading. Also discusses what children 
should and should not read 

nanus's Geometry in the Grammar School. An essay with illustra- 
tive exercises and an outline of work 

Huffcutt's English in the Preparatory School. Presents advanced 
methods of teaching English grammar and composition 

Luce's Nature and Effects of Alcohol and Narcotics. The patho- 
logical effects of narcotics . . . . , 

Milner's On Teaching Geometry. Suggests how the subject may be 
made most valuable in education 

Morris's Study of Latin. Latin regarded not merely as a means of 
expression, but also as a subject of scientific study 

Phillips's History and Literature in Grammar Grades. Discusses 
better methods of teaching . . . . . 

Redway^s Reproduction of Geographical Forms. Modelling, map 
drawing, and projection 

Rice's Science Teaching in the Schools. A course of instruction 
for the lower grades . 

Rupert's Famous Geometrical Theorems and Problems, with their 
history. Four parts. Each . . . . 

Safford's Mathematical Teaching. An essay upon methods for ele- 
mentary and advanced mathematics ...... 

Smith's The Writing of the Short Story. Helpful to those vrho 
write and those w'hb read . . . 

Welsh's Right Reading for Children. A plea for the best, with 
directions for finding it ........ 

Williams's Modern Petrography. An account of the application of 
the microscope to the study of geology ..... 

Woodward's Study of English. An exposition of the value of the 
study for discipline as well as for practical ends .... 



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D. C. HEATH h CO., Publishers: Boston, New York, Chicago 



